Workers combating Gulf, Pacific oil spills

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - About 155,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from a broken underwater pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico, creating a slick that spread for 25 miles, BP Exploration said Friday.

The slick was discovered Thursday morning about 30 miles southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It came from a leak in a pipeline that connects to a BP oil platform about 100 miles southeast of New Orleans, company spokesman Steve Peacock said.

BP said the slick appeared to be moving away from shore, although there were reports of oil reaching South Pass at the southeastern tip of Louisiana.

The leak was discovered Thursday morning, Peacock said. The platform was shut down and the pipeline had closed automatically, the company said.

A Coast Guard cleanup team placed a dispersant on the slick to help the oil dissipate. Smith said the dispersant was working "very effectively."-evdo

Meanwhile, another spill, found earlier this week in the Pacific off San Francisco, was still causing trouble.

The spill is near a national marine sanctuary that is one of

So far, 32 birds have been killed while 44 oil-covered birds were taken to the U.S. Coast Guard's wildlife care center in Santa Cruz to recover.

the most productive seabird breeding grounds in the eastern Pacific. So far, 32 birds have been killed while 44 oil-covered birds were taken to the U.S. Coast Guard's wildlife care center in Santa Cruz to recover, Lt. Ben Benson said Thursday night.

Crews have picked up nearly three tons of tar balls and other oily debris from beaches south of Half Moon Bay. It was unclear how long the cleanup would continue, Benson said.

Authorities are still trying to determine who caused the 10-mile slick, first spotted just 10 miles outside San Francisco Bay. They are using shipping logs and photographs from a commercial satellite under contract with the state in hopes of figuring out which tankers were in the area.